Talking Videogames With Chimee

[Chimee]

Since I enjoy videogames and giving my thoughts on them, I'm going to start rolling with my own thread kinda like Glenndog's Flick of the Week only it won't be weekly and it won't just be recommendations. This will be where I'll post my thoughts on old, new, and upcoming games as well as some news from the videogame industry updated whenever I see fit.

With all that said, my first "review" (I don't see it as a real review, it's just random thoughts about games I've played) will be up shortly... or never, I'm not really sure. Whenever I feel motivated I'll throw something up.

[Stedman]

[Chimee]

I'll start with the game that made me think about starting this thread, "The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass" for the Nintendo DS.

Gamespot Review

My Thoughts:

Phantom Hourglass is a game that I never intended to buy. I read a bit here and there saying that everything is controlled by using the touch screen on the Nintendo DS and buttons only pop up a few menus. I've always been a fan of the Legend of Zelda games, especially on the handhelds, but I'm also a
lover of buttons, so I was very surprised when I got the urge to buy it. Turns out it was a good move.

The game is so unlike anything I have ever played before. Like I said earlier, you control everything in the game using the touch screen (you move the stylus in front of the character he moves in to that point, you attack by either tapping on the enemy or quickly drawing a line to swing the sword, and there are a bunch of other nifty items in the game that use the touch feature in a bunch of different ways). It took some getting used to, but once I got the hang of it buttons didn't seem so important any more.

Some other unique things in the game are the use of the microphone and the folding screens of the DS itself. There are parts in the game where you'll be asked to make some sort of noise into the microphone to accomplish some sort of goal (on interesting one is when you try to buy a certain item in the game, the price depends on how well you shout into the microphone. Turns out "frrrrrrunkis" ended up with a higher price than the ERock scream complete with cough), there are also parts where you have to blow into the microphone to put out a torch, make a windmill move, or some other cool thing. With that said, this is not a game you would want to play in an airport or on the subway because you will look like an ass blowing into the microphone or shouting (turns out snapping your fingers in front of or tapping the microphone works instead of shouting, but where's the fun in that). Another cool little thing is that there are some puzzles that actually require you to close the DS to solve (I won't say what because that might count as a spoiler).

For a DS game, the graphics are amazing. It's based on the Wind Waker game for the Gamecube (it's actually a sequel, but they intro it with an explanation of what has happened so far) but less crisp.

The story is the standard "rescue the princess" deal with some tweaks here and there, but the control is the real star of the show here. The different uses for the features of the DS make this a must play for any DS owner.

[thepaulo]

Video game sales topped $17 billion last year, according to the NPD Group, making 2007 by far the biggest year in gaming history.

These numbers mark a 43 percent increase year over year, solidifying the games industry's strong lead in growth over movie box office revenue, which totaled $9.7 billion at a 4 percent increase.

Holiday shoppers made December the most lucrative month of all. Sales of both the Wii and Xbox 360 were strong, but it was the Nintendo DS that posted the biggest December totals, with a staggering 2.5 million systems ending up under trees nationwide. Over on the PS3, December saw a strong rise, but the more expensive system still tailed its competition.

No prizes for guessing the top-selling game of the year, though: Halo 3 wound up shifting just short of 5 million copies.

[Cody]

Living on a triangle must be hard on the ass, PaulO.

[Brainwart]

wow chimee. way to follow thru on an idea.

[Glenndog]

He is very busy breaking people's balls and being a miserable fuck. Take it easy on the guy.

thanks for bumping the thread paulo.

[Schroedinger's Dog]

Chimee attends video lectures by day and plays video games at night. He's a busy guy.

[Chimee]

I was going to add a new rambling review, but after I wrote it all out, it somehow disappeared and I couldn't get it back so I gave up.

[Schroedinger's Dog]

That's the winning attitude Chimee!

[Chimee]

I promise that in 2008 I will post another game review.

[Chimee]

First off, I'd like to say fuck all of you. I'm going to give this another shot out of the goodness of my heart because I feel that you all need to be more informed about the games that I'm playing and my never-say-anything bad opinions on them. I may not be like Mr. Movie Hotshot, Paulo or even that lovable dope, Glenndog, but I'll try goddammit... well, maybe not so much on the Glenndog part.

After this one, I'll try to post one of these a week. And I'd love some fucking discussion people.

Available On:
PC, PS2, PSP, DS, Wii, Xbox Live Arcade, Wireless (cellphones).

My Thoughts:
I'm fucking addicted to this game.

It's a cross between an role-playing game and Bejeweled. You play it against an opponent and you take turns playing on the same board. You match gems on the game board to build up the ability to cast spells and you match skulls to do direct damage to an enemy and you win by draining all of your opponents health. All the attack strength and spell strength is governed by different stats that you level up by winning.

There is a campaign mode in the game, which pretty much boils down to "get task, wander the map, fight something, repeat." This may not be Hollywood worthy story, but some of the scenes can be mildly entertaining, but it's obvious that the main point is the gameplay, which is simple and addicting.

Graphics are fairly simple, but I have noticed some lag when pulling some of the more graphically intense moves or a long combo. Even with that, this should be able to run on any PC without much of a problem. It costs around $20 ($30 for the Wii) and it is well worth that price.

Chimee's Rating:

[Cody]

what's it called?

...yes this means I actually read his review.

[PussyTheCat]

Looks like it's called "Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords", according to the title of Chimee's post.

[Schroedinger's Dog]

This board has developed a bit of an edge to it in 2008.

Be afraid...

[Schroedinger's Dog]

I only do single player first-person shooters. I'll jump into the discussion if you ever review one of those.

[Brainwart]

Looks like it's called "Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords", according to the title of Chimee's post.

in Cody's defense, it took me a moment to figure it out as well.

[Chimee]

It's a work in progress, next time I'll be sure to center it in large text and make it red so you all don't have to look around to figure out what's going on. This is why the Chinese are going to take over. You think they're gonna show themselves before they cut your throat and try to rape your family with their tiny dicks? No, they're gonna hide in a straight-haired shrub and jump out when you least expect it.

[Chimee]

I only do single player first-person shooters. I'll jump into the discussion if you ever review one of those.

What about third-person? Next round may or may not be Mass Effect. Plus, you're old, shouldn't you like this type of game?

[Schroedinger's Dog]

Third person throws me off. I want a cross hairs and the front end of the gun and that's it. I don't want to see me running around.